Effects of combined physical and cognitive program performed in socially enriched environment on older people's cognitive abilities and quality of life (StimCoAPS): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

The number of older people worldwide is constantly increasing. However, ageing is accompanied by a decline in cognitive ability that can affect quality of life. Cognitive, physical and social activities can all slow this decline but social factors and their contribution to the well-being remain under-researched. The aim of this study is to analyse how the practice environment can foster these social relations and thus enhance well-being and to identify the psychological dimensions that are activated by social relations. This study is a 3-year randomised controlled trial designed to assess the effects on participants' cognitive abilities and quality of life of a combined (ie, physical and cognitive) training programme in different social practice environments. A total of 159 older people (≥65 years old) will be recruited and randomly assigned to one of three practice environments: individual practice at home (n=53), group practice in a gymnasium (n=53) and group practice in an enriched environment (n=53). All participants will complete 12-week combined training sessions and will be assessed four times: before the start, in the middle, at the end and 6 months after the end of the programme. They will undergo cognitive function (episodic memory and executive functions), physical capacity (aerobic fitness, muscle strength and dynamic balance) and psychosocial assessments (indicators of psychological well-being, social support, self-esteem, anxiety, depression and achievement goal strategies), as well as semistructured interviews. Statistical analyses will be conducted to assess the effect of the practice environment on the perceived benefits of this programme in terms of cognitive abilities and quality of life, and to determine the role of psychosocial factors in this relationship. This protocol has been approved by an institutional review board (CERSTAPS: IRB00012476-2022-20-01-146). Trials registration number: NCT05721508.

Positive impact of social relationships fostered by physical and/or cognitive group activity on older people's quality of life: PRISMA systematic review.

Introduction: This review identified and examined the research literature on the effect of participating in physical and/or cognitive activities on older people's quality of life, to establish whether the social relationships fostered by these activities can be a vector of better physical, mental and social quality of life. Method: A systematic review of the literature was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched four databases (MEDLINE, APA PsycArticles/PsycInfo, PubMed, and Web of Science) for articles published between 1975 and 2022 using search terms related to psychosocial, population, and intervention topics. Studies were eligible if they involved older adults, participation in at least one activity (physical or cognitive), and at least one quality of life related outcome measure. Results: We selected 20 articles published between 1990 and 2021, the majority concerning studies conducted in English-speaking countries. Ten studies were interventional (introduction of program of activities), and 10 studies were observational (60% quantitative, 40% qualitative). Overall, results revealed a positive impact of the activities on every aspect of quality of life (i.e., cognitive, physical, social, psychological, and quality of life in general). Conclusion: The present review confirmed the beneficial impact of practicing physical and/or cognitive group activities on older people's quality of life, but the contribution of social factors and social relationships remains underestimated and not well defined in researches.

The link between language and action in aging.

OBJECTIVE: Many studies have demonstrated the existence of a link between action verb processing and action. However, little is known about the changes in this relationship with aging. METHOD: To assess this point, we compare the performances of younger and older people during a priming task consisting of judging whether an image contains a human after listening to an action verb. RESULTS: In accordance with previous literature, the results showed that younger people were faster to detect the presence of a human in the image in congruent conditions, namely, when the action verb and the image refer to the same action. However, this effect was not present in older adults' participants. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the link between action and language decreases with age. We discuss these findings in the context of the embodied view of cognition.

Partial-body cryostimulation after training improves sleep quality in professional soccer players.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present investigation was to determine whether using cryostimulation (partial-body cryostimulation) impacts sleep quality in professional soccer players. Different exposure durations at - 180 °C were tested randomly after standardized training sessions in nine professional soccer players (no cryostimulation, 180-s exposure, two 90-s exposures separated by a 5-min rest at room temperature, and 90-s exposure), and the effects on sleep quality using 3-dimensional accelerometers worn during sleep were assessed. RESULTS: The number of movements during the night after partial-body cryostimulation was significantly reduced only in the 180-s exposure condition (p < 0.05, very large effect size) compared with the control condition. Partial-body cryostimulation seems to induce a positive impact on sleep quality that may be dose-dependent. Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), ACTRN12619000330145, date of registration: 4/03/2019. Retrospectively registered.

3-min whole body cryotherapy/cryostimulation after training in the evening improves sleep quality in physically active men.

Exercise training during evening may disturb sleep patterns and hinder recovery process. The present study aimed to examine the effect of whole body cryotherapy (WBC) exposure after training in the evening on sleep quality and night heart rate variability (HRV). A total of 22 physically active men were randomized to undergo either WBC (3-min at -40°C, wind speed of 2.3 m s-1) or passive recovery (control) following an evening training consisting of 25 min of continuous running at 65% of the maximal aerobic speed (MAS) followed by intermittent running at 85% of the MAS. Each night following the training, the number of movements and HRV during sleeping time were recorded. The next morning, subjective sleep quality and perceived pain were assessed using Spiegel questionnaire and a visual analogue scale, respectively. The number of movements during the night following WBC was significantly reduced (p < 0.05) compared with the control condition. Subjective sleep quality following WBC was significantly better than the control group (p < 0.05). During the estimated slow-wave sleep (SWS), the high frequency power (HF) was higher in the WBC group than the control group (p < 0.05), and the low frequency power (LF) and the LF/HF ratio were lower than the control group (p < 0.05). Pain was significantly reduced following WBC compared to the control (p < 0.01). In conclusion, the use of 3-min WBC after training in the evening improves subjective and objective sleep quality in physically active subjects, which may be due to greater pain relief and improved parasympathetic nervous activity during the SWS period.

Impact of physical activity on executive functions in aging: a selective effect on inhibition among old adults.

The purposes of this study were to determine the impact of physical activity on three different executive functions (shifting, inhibition, and updating) and to examine whether cardiovascular fitness was a good mediator of the positive link(s) between these variables. Sixty-three young adults (18-28 years), 30 young-old adults (60-70 years) and 30 old adults (71-81 years) were divided into physically active and sedentary groups according to physical activity level (assessed from an accelerometer and the Historical Leisure Activity Questionnaire). Cardiovascular fitness was assessed by VO2max from the Rockport 1 mile. Each executive function was assessed through three different experimental tasks. ANCOVAs revealed that the effect of physical activity level was specific to the old adults and significant for inhibition, but not for updating and shifting. Mediation analysis showed that this positive effect in the old adults group was mediated by cardiovascular fitness level. The present findings highlight the positive linkages among physical activity, cardiovascular fitness, and inhibition in aging.

Processing speed and executive functions in cognitive aging: how to disentangle their mutual relationship?

The processing-speedtheory and the prefrontal-executivetheory are competing theories of cognitive aging. Here we used a theoretically and methodologically-driven framework to investigate the relationships among measures classically used to assess these two theoretical constructs. Twenty-eight young adults (18-32 years) and 39 healthy older adults (65-80 years) performed a battery of nine neuropsychological and experimental tasks assessing three executive function (EF) components: Inhibition, Updating, and Shifting. Rate of information processing was evaluated via three different experimental and psychometric tests. Partial correlations analyses suggested that 2-Choice Reaction Time (CRT) performance is a more pure measure of processing speed than Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) performance in the elderly. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that, although measures of processing speed and EF components share mutual variance, each measure was independently affected by chronological age. The unique adverse effect of age was more important for processing speed than for EF. The processing-speed theory and the prefrontal-executive theory of cognitive aging were shown not to be mutually exclusive but share mutual variance. This implies the need to control for their mutual relationship before examining their unique potential role in the explanation of age-related cognitive declines. Caution has still to be taken concerning the tasks used to evaluate these theoretical constructs.

Swimming as a positive moderator of cognitive aging: a cross-sectional study with a multitask approach.

This study examined whether regular swimming in older adults was related to better cognitive functioning and whether there were any global or selective positive effects of this physical activity (PA) on cognition. The cognitive performances of three groups of sixteen volunteer participants (young adults, sedentary older adults, and older adults who regularly practice swimming) were evaluated using a multitask approach. All participants performed a battery of ten tasks: two reaction time tasks assessing information processing speed and eight experimental tasks assessing three executive functions (EFs), (behavioral inhibition, working memory updating, and cognitive flexibility). The results showed that young adults performed significantly better than older adults on all examined cognitive functions. However, in older adults, regular swimming was related to better performance on the three EFs, but not on information processing speed. More precisely, five experimental tasks out of the eight tapping EFs were shown to be sensitive to positive effects from swimming practice. Finally, the demonstrated benefits of swimming on EFs were not necessarily linked to better cardiorespiratory fitness. The present findings illustrate the validity of using a multitask approach in examining the potential benefits of regular PA on cognitive aging.

Increased heart rate variability and executive performance after aerobic training in the elderly.

This study examined the effects of two short physical training programs on various parameters of heart rate variability (HRV) and on executive performance in older people. Twenty-four sedentary men and women aged 65-78 years were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise program or a stretching program three times a week for 12 weeks. Resting HRV was measured in time and frequency domains in each participant before and after the 12-week programs. Executive performance was measured with the Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST). Significant group-session interactions emerged for the standard deviation of normal beat-to-beat (R-R) intervals, the root-mean-square of successive R-R, and high frequency power. Only the aerobic training group increased vagal-mediated HRV parameters. Moreover, only the participants in the aerobic training group improved their performance on the WCST. These results highlight the role of aerobic exercise as an important cardiac and brain protective factor, and suggest a direct link between exercise, HRV, and cognition in the aged population.